The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1887-12-13
CUSTOM SOLICITORS.
"puLleRS INV or The MeTROPO-
LIS APPROPRIATELY DESCRIBED.
Noted Members OF the Profession ana
Specimens Of Their Persuasive orsi"fy'
The Arfstocratic Pure SILK" Umbrella
Mnp-Niliiner- on the Sidewalk.

4
The Aristocratic Pure silk" Umbrella
Man-Milliners ON the Sidewalk.
The spuller i'm occupies an humble but
important place in the economy ot the retail
business in New York At least II Is pre-
sumablc that his place is important, or there
would not 10 50 many OF him. The hur1ying
crowd may not notice him. There may not
he one in the hundreds Of thousands who lass
him daily who IL aware Of his existence. His
eloquent appeals ON the subject Of new hats
and fine coats may fall on heedless ears he
keeps on with a patient persist nee which IS
almost pathetic.
There is middle aged man with meian-
choly face, about the color Of "A strawberry,
and a voice o. doleful pitch who is pulling
i'm for mems furnishing store on Fulton
street lie walks up and down a short beat
IN front Of the store and talks incessantiy.
Nobody listens 10 what he says as far as you
can Judge. lie might as well he addressing
the crowd In Greek IL you were 10 20 Close
enough ~ him, however, you would hear Inn
saving: Pure silk, pure silk, only dollar
m a half for pure silk umbrella" There is
an Undesirable touch Of pathOs about the
way he SAYS this, as though the sacrifice Of "a
pure silk" umbrella for : 10 were to- much
for human contemplation. tie j.. the aristo-
crat VI ths 'pullers H." New York has
many Of his profession, but none that equals
him
The man who stands at the other end Of
the profession Lanuts Baxter street
Now, shents deed yer want tei bus dice
BAR Of bads 0dly a dollar al h1liat
There are no nlclanCholy notes n his nn 81
tone There are no evidences Of pisulrt
anguish at the sacrifice b. is making fm tIe
good Of mankind H. sicl, Of face down
10 about The level 81 your searf pin. and FDei-
ferates BIZ appeal With nn eueI - born II "a
lifelong and bitter competition with the half
hundred Others Of Ia profession ou ihe same
block lie walks not up and down with the
Iordly mien Of him who has reached the high
I'll station ia ''puller in life. lie stands 10
front Of bis dingy shop, attacks every Iassef
by indiscTimnately, and with startling sthe
mence His characteristic gesture is made
In one way and has been made 10 ono way
since the days Of Abraham
Between these twOextremes ihe ''puller inn
has many phases There isthe leather lunged
Young person, who stands ON Fourteenth
blocks TO .'git Yer wTitin paper am enyeIls
cheap up stairs with tremendous cmpha-
sis on the git dying away into curious
little impotent squeak on the stairs There
is the thin, stoOp shouldered person, with two
fingers on bis right hand, who makes this re-
mark at regular intervals. Don't have %
use knife b sharpen leadpencils.' lie is
pulling in for IA stand where q patent pen
al sharpcner Is sold, though 1t take, "a good
deal Of patient investigation and skiunish
ing around ia the ueighb0rhoJi % discover
the fact Then there IS "A cOnsumptye look
ing man, who stands on a horse block in
front OF Park row hat store and imploros
passersby in husky whisper to buy their
hats and caps VI the manufacturer There
is the fat man. who points you silently into
cigar store CA Canal street There Is the
youth, prolific of hair and dirty of face. WHO
tries IL lure the frugal housewife OF Cherry
hill into a grocery store fun of last week
vegetables There is the well dressed and in
sinuating young man who pulls in at the
clubs and hotels for the tailor. And there
are "the ladies
For the pulling in profession has both
sexes aud all ages, conditions AMI voice. for
its own. 1t is ia the region of Division street
that the woman "puller ia iiOuri,he, The
sixteen millinery stores on that ancient
thoroughfare know her we'll She lies in
wait in front Of each Of them for unwary
womankind She is as energetic as her broth
ers in the profession, and far more Voiubie
Strife runs high, too, between her and her
neighbor A good 'puller in IS worth -
week in Division street. IL is one 81 the dear
at objects Of the designing ladies who minis
ter 10 the wants Of their sex there ~ get
sidewalk operator who will bring her bust
ness. more especially If she can ct tAecoveted
customer away from IA hated rival
Two of Division street. fair millincrs came
TO blows the other day about the possession
of the best "puller I'M IN the street The
modern Solomon, who presided over the
police court in which the somewhat damaged
modistes figured after this interesting event,
was equal to the emergency lie proposed
that since the claims Of each belhgerent
seemed about equal, the peerless manipulation
Of business who was the source Of ali the
trouble should pull IN" one day for one Of
the milliners and the next day for the other
This settlement was thankfully received 10y
the excited contestants and peace reigned
once more in Division street
Space is lacking for the full description Of
the fat lady, apparently speeches., who sits
all day in an ample arm chair in front of a
Park row clothing store. Her place III the
profession Of pulling i'm can never be as
certained, for no one has ever seen her do
anything but sit still and look solemn
Neither can justice be done to the silent
and clean shayen man who operates the patent
gate in front Of hardware store on Barclay
street, 10 the determined race of ''pullers in"
who burden the life Of women visitors 10 the
markets; 10 the street ear conductors who
turn 10 pulling in" in the vicinity Of the big
dry goods stores; nor 10 the man who stands
in front Of the subcellar shoe store on Beck
man street and tries 10 charm people into his
place with a smile as broad and vacant as a
ten acre lot-"C 4 r. in New York Com
mercial Advertiser